The Royal Medical Society (RMS) is a society run by students at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, Scotland. It claims to be the oldest medical society in the United Kingdom although this claim is also made by the earlier London-based

Society of Apothecaries The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence. The society is a m ...

(1617). The current President of the 284th session is third year medical student Mr Liam Parkinson. The RMS is a

professional society A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and the ...

engaged in the advancement of medical knowledge and provision of assistance to medical students and professionals. Royal Medical Society, Edinburgh

History

In 1737 it was established as 'the Medical Society' in 1737. It was granted a Royal Charter in 1778. Earlier the Society was conceived in 1734 by a group of students who dissected the same body in the anatomy dissection room. They included Dr Cleghorn, Dr Cuming, Dr Russell, Dr Hamilton, Mr Archibald Taylor and Dr James Kennedy and perhaps Dr Fothergill. The source is a letter to Dr Fothergill from Dr Cuming in 1782 The RMS sold its extensive library, built up throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, at 3 sales at

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in London in 1969. Much of the collection was purchased by the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

Journal

''Res Medica'' is the journal of the Royal Medical Society. It was first published in 1957 which means that it one of the longest-running student-led publications in Britain.

The society today

The RMS owns rooms above Potterrow, the Edinburgh Students Union building, on

Bristo Square Bristo Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, is a public space on the estate of the University of Edinburgh. It lies in the south of the city, between George IV Bridge and George Square. The most prominent landmark on the square is the category A list ...

. During the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, the rooms are used as a performance venue for Pleasance promoters and host the Performers'/VIP bar (Brooke's Bar). The estate, is managed by the RMS Trust, which has charitable status. The day-to-day running of the Society is managed by the RMS Council – consisting of a Senior President, three Junior Presidents and 11 Conveners, each concerned with particular areas of the Society.

Notable members

Thomas Harrison Burder Thomas Harrison Burder (1789–1843) was an English physician and author. Life Thomas Harrison Burder was born in 1789 at Coventry in England, where his father George Burder was a Congregationalist minister. His elder brother, Henry Forster Burde ...

William A.F. Browne Dr William Alexander Francis Browne (1805–1885) was one of the most significant British asylum doctors of the nineteenth century. At Montrose Asylum (1834–1838) in Angus and at the Crichton Royal in Dumfries (1838–1857), Browne introduc ...

, asylum reformer * Robert Cleghorn, Hon President 1781, Senior President 1783 *

Andrew Combe Andrew Combe (27 October 17979 August 1847) was a Scottish physician and phrenologist. Life Combe was born in Edinburgh on 27 October 1797, the son of Marion (née Newton) and George Combe (1745-1816), a brewer, and was a younger brother o ...

James Crichton-Browne Sir James Crichton-Browne MD FRS FRSE (29 November 1840 – 31 January 1938) was a leading Scottish psychiatrist, neurologist and eugenicist. He is known for studies on the relationship of mental illness to brain injury and for the developmen ...

, psychiatrist *

William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...

, one of the founders of the society *

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

* Andrew Duncan, the elder, physician and six time President *

William Collins Engledue William Collins Engledue (1813 – 30 December 1858), MD (Edinburgh, 1835), MRCS (Edinburgh, 1835), MRCS (London, 1835), LSA (1835) was an English physician, surgeon, apothecary, mesmerist, phrenologist – and, in concert with John Elli ...

, phrenologist *

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

* Marshall Hall, elected Senior President in 1811 *

Francis Home Francis Home FRSE FRCPE (17 November 1719 in Eccles, Berwickshire – 15 February 1813) was a Scottish physician, and the first Professor of Materia Medica at the University of Edinburgh, known to make the first attempt to vaccinate against ...

, First Professor of Material medica; elected 1740 *

Matthew Kaufman Matthew H. Kaufman (29 September 1942 – 11 August 2013) was a British biologist. He was Professor Emeritus at University of Edinburgh having been Professor of Anatomy there from 1985 to 2007. He taught anatomy and embryology for more than 30 ...

Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 182710 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative medicine. Joseph Lister revolutionised the craft of s ...

Drummond Shiels Sir Thomas Drummond Shiels MC MB ChB (7 August 1881 – 1 January 1953) was a Scottish Labour politician. Life The son of James Drummond Shiels, photographer, and Agnes Campbell of Edinburgh, he was educated at Edinburgh University wher ...

, a Fellow and Senior President * Sir John Struthers, physician, anatomist *

Stuart Threipland Stuart Threipland MD, FRCPE (18 May 17161805) was a Scottish physician. He was the son of Sir David Threipland, the second baronet of Fingask and, like his father, was an active Jacobite. After qualifying MD from the University of Edinburgh in ...

, (see also Fingask Castle), physician to

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

(Bonnie Prince Charlie), President 1766–1770 *

Jozef Venglos Jozef or Józef is a Dutch, Breton, Polish and Slovak version of masculine given name Joseph. A selection of people with that name follows. For a comprehensive list see and .. * Józef Beck (1894–1944), Polish foreign minister in the 1930s * J ...

Hewett Watson Hewett Cottrell Watson (9 May 1804 – 27 July 1881) was a phrenologist, botanist and theory of evolution, evolutionary theorist. He was born in Firbeck, near Rotherham, Yorkshire, and died at Thames Ditton, Surrey. Biography Watson was the eld ...

, evolutionary theorist and friend of Charles Darwin, elected Senior President in 1831 *

German Sims Woodhead Sir German Sims Woodhead, KBE FRSE PRMS LLD (29 April 1855 – 29 December 1921) was an English pathologist. Life He was born at Woodland Mount, a large country house near Huddersfield, on 29 April 1855 the son of Joseph Woodhead, a newspap ...

, a former President

References

External links

RMS website
{{coord, 55, 56, 42, N, 3, 11, 22, W, region:GB, display=title 1737 establishments in Scotland History of the University of Edinburgh Libraries in Scotland Medical and health student organizations Medical schools in Scotland Organizations established in 1737 Organisations based in Edinburgh Organisations based in Edinburgh with royal patronage Professional associations based in Scotland Scottish Enlightenment Scottish medical associations Students' unions in Scotland